A Conflict of Interests
by ExtraLexical
Summary: Ideologies, whether philosophical or political, have a tendency to open rifts in even the strongest of relationships. A story that follows the paths of two pairs of sisters: a pair of Miraluka girls on a voyage from Alpheridies to the Galactic Republic, and a pair of girls on Nar Shaddaa living with their mother, as fate deals them tough hands and causes rifts between them.
1. Chapter 1 - Forced Responsibilities

Alarms rang through the corridors of the doomed ship. Corridors had long since been sealed in order to keep a survivable atmosphere in the remaining areas of the ship. The crew was either dead or long departed via the ship's escape pods. The invaders, whoever they were, were still present, stalking the edges of the hallways, looting and killing any remaining crew members.

"Ssshhh," Na'iida put her finger to her lips as she attempted to quieten the terrified whimpering of her younger sister, Aaleit. Na'iida had brown, shoulder length hair that was tied into a bun on the back of her head, a contrast to her otherwise pale complexion. The area of her face where eyes should be was covered by a purple veil, as was that of her younger sister, both children were Miraluka. Her younger sister looked very similar, though she was smaller and barely out of her toddler years. The pair had tucked inside a ventilation shaft, hiding from the patrolling intruders.

"How disappointing," they heard the rough voice of a man from down the corridor.

"Yeah, the ship was barely guarded," came another rough voice, though this one was female; it was accompanied by an exchange of laughter.

"I meant the loot, you ass," came the male voice again, this time far closer. Na'iida brought Aaleit into a tight embrace, stroking the back of her head and holding it tightly against her chest. She knew that there was no way to get her younger sibling to not see the invaders, though she could do her best to give comfort. The pair walked past the ventilation shaft, armoured boots clanking against the metallic floor. Na'iida felt her sister tense up as the footsteps got closer and closer. _Don't make a sound, _she thought to herself as the footsteps reached their peak, the pair stepping past the exit to the ventilation shaft.

"Whatever," the female replied, her voice echoing down the ventilation shaft as she passed. "How long are we going to be here anyway? Feeling the need for some action on the Smuggler's Moon, you know?"

"Eh, they're having some trouble up near the bridge and the engine room. Boss wants to blow this ship apart, but we can't get to any of the bomb sites." The voices trailed off around a corner, Na'iida still tracking their movement through her people's inherent Force sight ability.

"Come on," she whispered to Aaleit, who still clutched at her arm tightly. Na'iida crept out of the vent, Aaleit following on, firmly attached to her older sister's arm. It was easy to avoid the patrolling groups when their sight was physical whilst Na'iida's was through the Force.

The pair got to the escape pods. There were still three left, though one had taken a hit and was no longer functional. Na'iida tucked inside of one of the functional pods and immediately went to strapping Aaleit into one of the seats. It was tough, as the seats were not designed natively for four year old children. She secured it as best as she could before strapping herself in opposite.

"Where's Mother and Father?" Aaleit asked as Na'iida finished strapping herself in. How was she supposed to answer that? She bit her lip, catching sight of another pair of the boarders approaching.

She hammered the release button.

The door sealed shut behind the two children. The clamps around the pod released. The pair hurtled towards the nearest planet, the pod's automatic protocols adjusting their trajectory as needed.

The pod impacted against the planet's surface.


	2. Chapter 2 - Scared Hunted Alone

Na'iida awoke to her younger sister shaking her violently. She stirred groggily, raising a hand to gently push at her sister to stop the shaking. Aaleit let go of Na'iida's shoulder, though she remained uncomfortably close.

"Hey, back up a little bit, Aly," Na'iida managed to mumble as she pushed at her sister's chest, though Aaleit did the opposite, attaching herself to Na'iida's chest in a tight hug. Aaleit did not seem to say anything, merely whimpering as she tried to bury her head in her sister's chest. Na'iida immediately realised that she was somewhere she had never been before, the landscape of the planet was alien to her. There was local wildlife, that much was apparent, but the nature of the wildlife remained to be seen.

"Come on, we can't just stay here," Na'iida whispered, stroking the back of her sister's hair. She knew how to operate one of these escape pods, her parents had taught her in case of emergencies as children were generally not included in the safety training rosters aboard the ship. Aaleit was making it difficult though, refusing to move. "Look, Aly, we need to go and find mother. She might be on the planet in a different escape pod."

Aaleit shook her head, her face still planted on Na'iida's chest. "No. We have to wait for mother here," she replied, barely audible due to her positioning.

"That won't work, Aly," Na'iida urged, still stroking the back of her younger sister's head, doing her best to comfort the younger child. She was scared, perhaps more than her younger sister as Aaleit probably did not grasp the magnitude of the situation. They were alone. They were on a foreign world. They were just a pair of children. Na'iida honestly had no idea what to do, but if she showed it, Aaleit would be terrified.

Na'iida flicked at her straps, the safety harness coming loose and slipping off her shoulders and chest, though Aaleit was still firmly attached. "Aly, I need to move," Na'iida uttered with a deep breath. She smiled at her younger sister and pushed at her again, though this time she moved to the side, still clinging to Na'iida's arm. It was progress, at least.

Na'iida felt the presence of foreign life forms; she was on a planet that she had never been on before, having never left Alpheridies before. She had no idea whether the wildlife was hostile or not, but the pair of them had no food or way of sustaining themselves. They had to find some form of civilisation or they'd starve in the pod.

"Sis?" Aaleit asked, squeezing Na'iida's arm tightly. It was only then that she realised that she had been sitting there for a few minutes without doing anything. She laughed a hollow laugh, getting to her feet and reaching for the door controls.

"We need to go and find mother," she replied with a smile, facing her younger sister as she fingered at the door controls. Fortunately, they still worked; they had been built to last the impact. "Just stay close to me. Don't separate for any reason, you understand?" she asked as the door opened in front of the pair of girls, a cold wave of air instantly whipping over the two of them. Aaleit responded with a nod and a tight squeeze of Na'iida's arm, though she instantly started shivering at the cold. They were not dressed perfectly for this weather, their pod having landed somewhere in a mountain range.

"We have to keep moving," she said with a sudden urgency. She knew that the pair of them could not stay in this temperature for too long, despite their clothing being sufficiently warm. The chill was still going to be unhealthy for them if they were exposed to it for a prolonged period of time.

The pair of children clambered out of the pod onto the snow covered mountains. Outside, in the fog, a creature prowled and stalked the young girls. The fog did not conceal it from Na'iida's view, but naivety kept it off her list of potential threats at that moment, or at least below the climate and landscape itself.


	3. Chapter 3 - Too Much Responsibility

"Hey, Sis! Over there!" Aaleit exclaimed as the pair of them stumbled up to a cliff face. They had been trekking across these mountains for hours, and both of them were tired and hungry. Aaleit could barely continue walking, though she seemed excited about something. Na'iida checked along the cliff face, over to where Aaleit was pointing, to find a cave entrance carved into the side of the mountain. She did not speak, merely rushing with Aaleit still attached to her arm over to the opening in the cliff face. It was dark, though the light levels were not a concern for either of them.

"At least this will shield us from the wind," Na'iida uttered quietly to Aaleit as she placed her down, resting her against the wall. Aaleit was reluctant to let go, but eventually curled up against the wall. The walk had sapped her strength completely, and the cold and hunger were not helping.

"I'm hungry," Aaleit moaned, hugging her knees, "when are we going to find mother or father?"

It was a question that Na'iida wanted to know the answer to as well. She folded her arms, partially due to the cold, partially due to frustration. All she knew is that they were not moving from their position in the cave. There was nothing to eat, nothing to drink and no civilisation anywhere nearby. "I don't know, Aly," Na'iida admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "Look, I'm sure they will come looking. You just wait," she continued, a weak, false smile on her lips as she crouched down and pulled Aaleit into a tight hug. The prospect of death looming over her was not a concern for her. She had been taught that death is a natural part of life and if the Force willed that it was her time to become one with it, then that is how it would be. She feared for her younger sister, Aaleit. Aaleit had not been educated as much, and Na'iida was afraid that her younger sibling still feared death.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the same presence that she had felt at the crash site. It was now accompanied by the sound of padded steps as it made its way inside the cave. It regarded the two children and snarled, baring teeth that looked larger than Aaleit's arms. Na'iida clutched her sister tighter as the creature came closer. If this was how it would end, then she would not try and run from it fruitlessly. What could she even do? She was only a child, and she had to take care of Aaleit as well. There was no way that she could get out.

"Hey, hey, hold it right there," came a foreign, male voice. A fourth presence appeared from nowhere, this one was almost radiant to Na'iida, though that could just be because of the desperate situation. The manka cat that had been stalking the pair of children turned to look at the new presence, snarling louder. "That's no way to treat a young lady and you should know better," the man continued, holding one hand out to the beast. The manka cat seemed to back down a little, prowling to the side of the man giving him another glance. "Out," the man urged once more, his hand still raised to the beast. The manka cat looked at him nonchalantly, before striding outside and away from the cave. Na'iida already noticed the change in the manka cat the moment the man spoke and clutched her younger sister protectively. There were things worse than death.

The man walked over to the pair of girls and crouched down to their level. He was balding, thin strands of light brown adorning the edges of his head. He wore a long, brown robe that draped onto the ground as he crouched to get a closer look a the pair with a pair of small, brown eyes. "Hello," he said gently, though Na'iida still held her sister who she now noticed had gone limp, breathing softly against Na'iida's chest. The man raised a curious eyebrow. "The Force can have effects on the minds of animals, such as the manka cat." He paused, looking directly at Na'iida, hands coming up to rub at his tanned chin. "You saw what I did, didn't you," he asked rhetorically, a smile on his face.

Na'iida nodded in response. She was shivering, though whether it was due to fear or the cold was unclear. The man stood up and offered his hand to her.

"Come on, I'll take you to the nearby settlement," he offered, though Na'iida did not move. "I'm not going to hurt you, but I can't leave a pair of children out here in the mountains by themselves. I am Jedi Master Vilis Eniell." He paused for a moment, "where are your parents?"

All Na'iida replied with was a shake of her head. She had come to accept what had happened. The man looked outside the cave momentarily. He was being sincere, or at least he was doing a very good job at hiding deception if there was any.

"I'll be honest with you, there are a lot more manka cats out there. There is no food or water for quite a way and you do not look like you're in the condition to trek across mountains. I will take you to the lands outside House Organa, but then you will have a choice."

Na'iida paused for a moment before opening her mouth. "What kind of choice?" she inquired, causing the man to smile widely once again.

"You can live as an orphan on this planet, which is called Alderaan, by the way. Or you can come with me to Coruscant. I believe both you and your sister have what it takes to become members of the Jedi Order." Na'iida had heard of the Jedi Order before, she had been taught about them briefly, but she honestly had little idea what they even stood for. She loosened her hold on Aaleit, propping her against the cave wall and reached up, taking the man's hand and standing up. She had a horrible feeling that her parents had died, she was just wondering how she would break it to Aaleit.

But what sort of future could they have as a pair of orphans? Na'iida did not fancy her chances in such a situation, especially if she had to look after her younger sister as well. It was not a question of willpower, but practicality. She went silent as she thought about it, standing eerily still as she did. She considered what she thought was best for her and what was best for Aaleit. Perhaps it would be for the best to throw themselves into something, take their minds off the loss of their parents.

"Come on," the Jedi cut in, moving past Na'iida to pick up Aaleit's unconscious form with far more ease than a man of his build perhaps should. "I have a speeder nearby. There is no rush to your decision, think on it," he looked down at her. She looked exhausted, but he could not carry the both of them and did not wish to leave one alone as the area had more than one manka cat, "or sleep on it, from the looks of things. Can you walk?"

Na'iida responded with a tired nod of her head. She felt as though she had a bit more left in her, and wished for the man to carry Aaleit, not her. If she collapsed, she had decided that she would apologise later.

The Jedi gave her a re-assuring smile, which was largely lost to her, though she knew that his intentions were good and smiled back. He turned and started to make his way out of the cave, Aaleit in his arms and Na'iida following close behind.


End file.
